


Owl the Way Up There

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Akaashi and Konoha and Komi are BFFs, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou are Bros, Editor Akaashi Keiji, Fluff and Humor, M/M, No angst allowed, Wildlife Biologist Bokuto, akaashi n bokuto love owls aw, appreciation of nature, more tags and relationships and characters to come when i figure out what im even doing here, pretty fast burn cause i dont know what patience is lol, this might lowkey be crack but who's to say
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:15:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24789085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Long story short; Akaashi goes for a walk and meets an owl man.Long story a little less short; Akaashi starts walking in a nature park as a way to relieve stress and meets Bokuto Koutarou, an energetic and passionate wildlife biologist. It may not be the peaceful quiet time he signed up for but maybe this is just what Akaashi needed.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Kudos: 43





	Owl the Way Up There

**Author's Note:**

> hello!!
> 
> i haven't written anything in a long time but to be honest i think akaashi and bokuto are such beautiful characters,, i HAD to! sorry if the first chapter seems rushed, it's just sort of an introduction and for you, the reader, to get a taste of my writing style and decide if this is something you'd like to invest time in LOL. i hope you stay tuned for more!!
> 
> rating is teens and up because you can't convince me that akaashi doesn't swear as often as he sees fit

Despite what other people would have said about him, Akaashi Keiji gets frustrated easily. 

Like,  _ really  _ easily. 

It doesn’t even take much; the barista at the cafe near his apartment may have put too much milk in his morning coffee, or maybe an elbow belonging to the man standing next to him on the train ride home from work was  _ constantly  _ bumping into him. You know, small things. 

And Akaashi knows that’s what they are: small things. So while they might have made his eye twitch or his nose wrinkle he is absolutely not going to do anything about it; not going to take it out on an innocent person because he knew there was no malicious intent behind these actions. He’s not shy, he’s not a pushover, but he wasn’t rude either.

Still, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t bother him. 

Since the simplest things can upset him, he can physically  _ feel _ the tension in his body by the time he crawls into bed. All the pent up frustration and unspoken words from the day weigh him down so much so that every night he wishes he never had to see another human being for the rest of his life.

Akaashi’s friends thinkーread; knowーthat this was a lie. Akaashi isn’t shy about genuinely enjoying his friends’ company and he isn’t afraid of his friends  _ knowing _ that. He often makes plans with them himself out of sheer willingness; contrary to popular belief. Of course he wants to see  _ them _ . 

But Akaashi would argue back that his friends don’t fall into the “human beings” category. 

At least,  _ he  _ wouldn’t put them in that category. 

He reaffirms this statement as he watches Konoha eat his sundae with a fork and Komi, another close friend from highschool, attempts to drink his glass of chocolate milk through his nose. 

“Your nose and mouth are connected,” Komi says. “In theory, it should work.”

“Saying ‘in theory’ doesn’t make you or your idea sound any smarter,” Akaashi tells him, “and could you use a straw, at least?” 

Konaha gasps. “Do you even  _ know  _ how many straws end up in our oceans, ‘Kaashi?”

“Do  _ you _ ?”

“No, but I know that it’s a lot.” Konoha says matter-of-factly, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head. “Didn’t know you hated turtles. I’m disappointed.” 

Akaashi chooses to ignore this, turning his head to watch Komi tip his glass towards his nose. “I will pay you twice the cost of that chocolate milk if you put that glass down immediately.”

“Deal,” Komi accepts, slamming the nearly full glass back on the table. Akaashi cringes as milk sloshes out of the glass, already collecting napkins from the dispenser on their table.

Konoha laughs. “ _ Ha!  _ Look at his face. Akaashi, you look like you just ate a lemon!”

“I seriously can’t believe you guys are older than me,” Akaashi mumbles, swiping a wad of napkins across the table in front of Komi. “I swear, I’m always running after you both.” 

Akaashi met both Komi and Konoha during his first year of high school, both of them already being on the volleyball team Akaashi was interested in joining. As soon as Akaashi had finished writing his name on the sign-up sheet he had been practically ambushed by the second years and “taken under their wing”, as his friends like to put it. 

Akaashi was certain that it was just a team related thing, and that he couldn’t share the same bond his upperclassmen seemed to share given that he was a year younger. But suddenly he found himself going to the movies or for dinner at least once a week and spending every weekend with at least one of his older teammates, and he realized that  _ maybe _ they were his friends. 

Since then, they’ve been there for everything, even during Akaashi’s third year while they were in university. They’re his best friends, and he loves them dearly.

But  _ God,  _ are they a handful. 

“You’re always too stressed, Akaashi.” Komi comments, head resting sideways on the now clean table. “You never seem to catch a break. Has work been very busy lately?”

Akaashi sighs. Work  _ has  _ been a little busier than normal. 

“Work is  _ always  _ busy for him,” Konoha interjects. “You need to do things that help you relax. Like hanging out with friends.”

“I don’t feel really relaxed right now,” Akaashi mumbles, grimacing at the wet paper towels in his hand. 

“Why don’t you try going to a spa or something?” Konoha tries. “Or do you drink tea?” 

“I’m not the biggest fan of physical contact with people I’m not familiar with,” Akaashi admits, “so I don’t think time spent at a spa would be very relaxing for me. It was a nice idea though, so thank you,” he smiles. “As for the tea idea, I drink herbal tea everyday before bed, and it doesn’t seem to help.”

“How about going on walks?” Komi suggests. “When my dad gets home from work he always takes Tombo for a walk. He says it relaxes him  _ and  _ the dog.” 

Akaashi shrugs. “I walk home from the train station and it’s...nice,  _ kind of _ . At that hour the streets are very busy though so everything is sort of bright and noisy which is...unpleasant.”

“There’s a really nice park about an hour drive from here,” Konoha points in what he assumes to be the park’s general direction. “My family goes all the time. They have a bunch of nice trails for walking, maybe you should try something like that? Become one with nature and all that.”

“That…” Akaashi pauses, “actually sounds like a pleasant idea. Can you send me the name of the park?” 

* * *

  
  


While it’s a little bit later in the evening than Akaashi originally planned, reviews on the park’s website said that certain parts of the trails had good spots to catch a glimpse of the sunset and that the trails had effective lighting even after the sun went down. 

He’s been looking forward to this all day, so even when his boss asked him to finish editing some extra pages he couldn’t bring himself to even feel annoyed because he was actually pretty excited to visit the park. 

Fukurodani Park looked absolutely gorgeous in the photos Akaashi had seen, and he knew the view would probably be even better in person. There are numerous mountains ranging in sizes (and difficulties in terms of trails) covered from top to bottom with a variety of deciduous trees that Akaashi won’t even  _ try _ to name. 

Given the hour and that it’s his first time doing something like this, Akaashi picks a trail that the brochure has described as “light and peaceful”. The trail went up one of the park’s smaller mountains, and he planned on stopping and turning around the fourth lookout point.

Unfortunately, due to the park being an hour drive from his city apartment, he can’t do this every nightーwhich is also a good thing, he supposes, as he’s less likely to get bored of any trails quicklyーbut he hopes that with time he’ll be able to tackle some more difficult trails in the future. 

So in total, around a two hour hike up and down. Then an hour drive back to his apartment in the city and then  _ straight to bed.  _

Slipping his AirPods into his ears, Akaashi takes his first step onto the blanket of mulch that covers the trail floor. 

_ I hope this works.  _

Akaashi is completely enthralled by his surroundings by the time he’s halfway up the trail. 

_ Everything is so beautiful, _ he thinks. Akaashi takes his time gazing up green tree tops and even ends up putting his earphones away in order to hear the trickling of streams that run alongside the train path. Thin logs that line the path prevent him from getting any closer, but when he crouches down he’s able to make out small creatures like frogs and minnows splashing about in the water.  _ Cute!  _

If he wants to make it back home at a decent hour he should really keep moving forward, but he can’t help getting distracted by the things around him. He feels like he should have dedicated a whole  _ day _ to this one trail

* * *

It's at the top of a mountain where Akaashi  _ fully _ relaxes.

He swears he can feel himself deflate; all the pressure built up inside of him escapes through his mouth as he earnestly sighs at the beautiful view in front of him . 

It's a scene from a movie: a gentle breeze blows lightly through his hairーwhich has gotten a bit long, he thinks, but he hasn't had time to cut it latelyー and the setting sun paints the surrounding sky with various shades of orange and pink and yellow and wow, Akaaashi thinks, gazing out over the beautiful landscape in front of him. 

_ I don't want to leave. _

Though eventually, he does. Leave, that is; leisurely making his way down the same trail he followed on his way up only this time bathed in complete darkness save for the soft yellow lights lining the trail ground. 

Even in the darkness, he feels completely at ease. It's incredible, he thinks, that a simple walk has had the ability toーas far as he can tellーclear his mind to this extent; where he doesn't feel weighed down by the day's previous events. 

_ This _ , he thinks, giggling quietly to himself,  _ is glorious _ .

* * *

Almost halfway down the trail, Akaashi hears rustling in the trees above him. 

Excitedly, he glances up. A combination of the large amount of trees and the park’s efforts to preserve the environment have provided a great habitat for many different animals including  _ owls _ ; Akaashi’s favourite bird. 

He stands silently, looking at the sky since he knows the best he’ll probably see is a silhouette when (and if) the  _ possible _ owl flies away since the lights along the path don’t reach the trees. 

Which is why he is greatly surprised when something falls in front of him.

Something  _ huge _ with the way the ground shook. Whatever it is groans lowly and Akaashi screams and can you blame him? Absolutely not. 

Akaashi’s scream is cut off by a loud  _ hoot!  _ He quickly looks up in awe just in time to make direct eye contact with what he now knows is definitely an owl sitting on a branch above him. The owl spreads its wings before taking off, and he continues to watch it until it flies out of his sight. 

“Aw, what the hell man!”

_ Oh,  _ Akaashi startles, _ it’s a person. _

Heart pounding, Akaashi quickly turns back around only to be practically  _ blinded.  _

“Could you turn that off?” Akaashi sneers, holding his hands up in front of his face. “Did you have to shine that straight into my  _ eyes? _

The manーAkaashi assumes, given the tone of his voiceーgrumbles but doesn't move the light away from Akaashi’s face. So in an action of pure self defence Akaashi blindly swats a hand in front of him in hopes of moving that  _ goddamn light away from him so him so he can see the moron that he's dealing with  _ but ends up being a bit  _ too  _ successful and ends up knocking the flashlight out of the hand that held it and watches the device roll down the hill on the side of the trail. 

“Again,” they say, “what the actual  _ hell- _ ”

“Come onto the trail,” Akaashi interrupts. “There’s light. You just fell out of a fucking  _ tree _ , we need to check you for injuries.”

They step over the thin log border of the trail and as the soft light illuminates reveals the man’s face, Akaashi once again comes face to face with an owl.

Well, not quite. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!! hit me up on tumblr @bokutoko if you wanna scream haikyu!!


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